‘Thank you, Fran,’ says Flynn, returning to the microphone as the room fills with applause and Nicolas retreats. ‘Allow me to echo your sentiments: romance has always been a great pleasure of mine, from Aristophanes to David Nicholls, and has been part of my life since my teenage years. Neighbourhood bookshops have and always will be places of deep discovery and community, something we need to champion alongsidelocal libraries, and, as you said, love really is what makes the world go round.’
Flynn’s words feel like the perfect end to the event, so it comes as a surprise when Ginny takes to the microphone again.
‘If I may add to that,’ she begins, and Flynn gestures for her to take the floor. ‘I’d like to acknowledge that Frances, and other authors of similar talent and skill, are the reason why people like me persist with this business, which is often to the detriment of our personal lives.
‘Up until this trip, I had been toying with the idea of letting go of my career to focus on other pursuits, but Frances has reminded me how important it is to keep putting positive, peaceful, loving material by women into a world that is too often fractured by ego.
‘I am proud to be here today and make a promise to Frances that I hope to acquire her next three novels with a generous package that signals our intention and conviction to promote and produce the very best love stories on the market.’
The room erupts with applause and I feel swept up in a dream. It’s only when I see Carly, standing as if in ovation, just as Nicolas stalks out of the room, that I realise the dream is real.
32.
ELSA
‘Wasn’t she marvellous?’ I say to Frank and Marleen, sitting outside a traditional patisserie tucked away in a quiet enclave near Gare du Nord.
‘An absolute triumph!’ Marleen agrees, digging her fork into her Tarte Tatin.
‘And a new book deal in the making. It makes my heart sing to see her confidence shine again. We couldn’t have wished for a more thrilling end to our trip!’
‘Someone taking out that Frenchman might have improved things,’ blusters Frank, taking a mouthful of Paris-Brest.
‘She dealt with him superbly,’ I reply, proud of how she stood up to him, just as Nancy would have done. ‘I knew there was something about him from the start.’
‘A saboteur,’ Frank laughs wryly.
‘Poor Carly, I think she had a soft spot for him,’ I say, wondering how she must be feeling after the debacle; I’ve never seen anyone shrink in her seat the way she did when Nicolas said what he said.
‘It’s always the ones we least expect who turn out to be the bad ones,’ says Marleen, uncharacteristically cynical.
Frank and I both stop what we’re eating, surprised by her comment.
‘I shouldn’t have said that,’ she says hurriedly, reaching for the meditation beads in her coat pocket.
Rather than rushing in, I say nothing, enjoying my almond and pear tart mouthful by mouthful, allowing Marleen a moment of reflection. Thankfully Frank is too consumed with his bun to steer the conversation elsewhere.
‘A very long time ago, I was married,’ she offers, her meditation beads in hand.
I nod quietly, neutrally, giving her space to continue.
‘He was my whole world, everyone thought he was special: fun, good-looking, warm-hearted. Then, from out of nowhere, he told me he was leaving; he’d met someone else – the marriage was over.’
‘Men like that give other men a bad name,’ says Frank after we’ve both digested Marleen’s news. I can tell, in spite of his brisk tone, that his heart is full of compassion.
‘I’m ashamed to say I was consumed with anger for a very long time. I felt bruised and attacked, and full of resentment.’
‘Quite rightly,’ says Frank. ‘No man should be forgiven for such behaviour.’
Marleen and I share a quiet smile at Frank’s chivalrous attitude.
‘It was a long road through cognitive therapy, andI found yoga, which helped, but it was letting go of my ego, finding simple awareness, that really led to transformation.’
‘Simple awareness,’ I repeat, recalling the conversation with Fran.
‘Exactly,’ she says. ‘To know that peace is not simply within us but is the essence of our very being, of everything in the universe. We are nothing separate or other; we are all one loving unity.’
I’m fully expecting Frank to chime in with something completely contradictory and inappropriate, so it takes me by surprise when I notice instead a contemplative look in his eye.
